Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Gaddafi and Japanese earthquake dominate news

Colonel Gaddafi's bid to put down the uprising in Libya and the earthquake in Japan were the stories that dominated the UK news agenda in the week ending Sunday, March 13, according to journalisted.

Colonel Gaddafi, striking back against rebels while the world discusses a no-fly zone, generated 526 articles; the earthquake in Japan triggering a deadly tsunami and fears over destabilised nuclear reactors, 500 articles; Prince Andrew's friendship with a US convicted sex offender, sparking calls for him to resign as UK trade envoy, 168 articles; and Lord Hutton's recommendations for reform to public sector pensions, including a rise in retirement age from 60 to 65, was covered in 128 articles.

Covered little, according to journalisted, were Mexico's youngest police chief, Marisol Valles Garcia, abandoning her post and allegedly seeking asylum in the US after death threats, 10 articles; US military trials to resume at Guantanamo, contrary to Obama's campaign promise, 9 articles; the three BBC journalists captured, beaten, and subjected to mock torture by security forces in Libya, 7 articles; a protest in Ivory Coast on International Women's Day, in response to shootings of female anti-Gbagbo demonstrators during an earlier protest, 4 articles

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based in the UK and was deputy editor of Press Gazette, the journalists' magazine, from 1993 until 2006. I want to give an independent view on media matters.
You can contact me with stories, ideas and comments by email at jon.slattery369@btinternet.com You can also follow me on Twitter @jonslattery